Carmelo Bene. La Lectura Dantis in ricordo delle vittime della strage alla Stazione di Bologna

On the evening of July 31, 1981, the anniversary of the Bologna massacre, Carmelo Bene greeted by a flood of people, climbs a fireman's ladder and settles on top of the Asinelli Tower. He stands behind the illuminated lectern and begins the Lectura Dantis with music for ancient instruments on magnetic tape by Salvatore Sciarrino. The impressive amplification equipment spread across the streets adjacent to the Asinelli Tower the Voice and Carmelo Bene recited without being seen, like a muezzin on the minaret. The newspapers of the period testified to the numerous controversies that preceded and followed the celebratory event. The choice of the songs of the Divine Comedy made by the actor is indicative; in fact, it was expected to hear offensive and insulting verses instead, in general amazement, excerpts from the V, XXVI and XXXIII of Inferno; from the VI and VIII of Purgatory; from XXIII, XXVII and VII of Paradise. The encore with two sonnets Guido, i' vorrei che tu e Lapo ed io from the Rime, and Tanto gentile e onesta pare from Vita Nova. The lights go out at 11.05 pm and an intense and long applause paid homage to Carmelo Bene's Lectura Dantis who, with his Voice, wanted to travel with Dante on a journey from dalle disperate grida of Hell to the dolce sinfonia di Paradiso.